Brenda Smith, Executive DirectorNine Mile Run Watershed Association

Brenda Smith has served as the Executive Director of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association (NMRWA) since January 2008. During that time, she managed the successful completion of Phase II of the Rain Barrel Initiative, one of the largest rain barrel programs in the US; the planting & care of 500 street trees in Wilkinsburg in cooperation with TreeVitalize, the Borough of Wilkinsburg, and the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation; the launch of StormWorks, a social enterprise offering sustainable stormwater management solutions throughout Allegheny County; and NMRWA’s participation in the Clean Rivers Campaign, working to prioritize green solutions in the Pittsburgh region’s response to the Consent Decree to stop sewer overflows. Brenda also participated in the Pennsylvania American Water Company’s Source Water Protection planning committee, and was honored in 2011 by the Women and Girls Foundation as one of the “Women Greening the Pittsburgh Region”.

Prior to 2008, Brenda served as the Development Director for Chatham Baroque, and, from 1989-1999, as a co-founder and the first President of Global Links, a humanitarian aid organization that provides hospitals in Western PA and across the U.S. with an environmentally responsible alternative to disposal or incineration of surplus equipment and supplies, through donation to hospitals and clinics serving the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean. Brenda helped the initially all volunteer organization grow to include more than ten paid staff members, hundreds of volunteers, and average annual donations valued at more than $1 million.